Southern Ibaraki: Science City, the Great Buddha & Mount Tsukuba — 2 Days

The Tsukuba Space Center is the operational heart of JAXA, Japan's space agency — the place that develops the country's satellites, trains its astronauts and runs the Japanese module of the International Space Station. Its public face is the free Space Dome exhibition hall, where you walk among full-size models of Japanese satellites, a real test model of the Kibo space-station module you can step inside, rocket engines, and a half-scale H-II launch vehicle. Outside, a genuine retired H-II rocket lies full-length in the entrance plaza, a favourite photograph. Guided tours of the working facility run by reservation, some in English. It is a real, working space centre rather than a theme park, and all the more exciting for it — start here, when children are freshest.

Space Dome exhibition open roughly 10:00-17:00, free, walk-in (closed some days — confirm); guided facility tours are paid and reservation-required, English tours limited and to be booked well ahead. In central Tsukuba. Allow about 75 minutes for the exhibition.

A short way north in central Tsukuba, the Expo Center is a hands-on science museum left over from the 1985 Tsukuba science exposition, instantly recognisable from the full-size H-II rocket model standing upright in its forecourt — at 50 metres, a landmark of the city. Inside are interactive exhibits on space, robots, the body and natural phenomena, pitched squarely at children but engaging for adults, and one of the largest planetariums in Japan, whose domed shows of the night sky are the centre's signature. It is an easy, all-weather follow-on to the JAXA centre and a good place to let younger children loose for an hour before lunch. Check the planetarium programme and times when you arrive.

Open roughly 09:50-17:00, closed Mondays and the last Tuesday of the month (approx., 2026); around ¥500 adult, or ¥1,000 with a planetarium show. In central Tsukuba near Tsukuba Station. Allow about 75 minutes.

Tsuchiura, on the shore of Lake Kasumigaura, has been an eel town for generations — the lake and its rivers were rich in it — and Komatsuya, founded in 1916, is one of its long-established houses. The eel is grilled in the Kanto style, steamed then finished over charcoal with a sweet-savoury glaze and served on rice as unaju, and the shop also sells the tsukudani — small fish and shellfish simmered in soy — that the lake country is known for. It is a comfortable, traditional eel lunch near Tsuchiura Station, the right reward between the science museums and the boat, and a taste of the freshwater cuisine that defines this corner of the prefecture. Reserve ahead at weekends.

Open for lunch and dinner (confirm the weekday off and 2026 hours); an unaju runs roughly ¥3,000-6,000 (approx., 2026). Near Tsuchiura Station, about 25 minutes by car from central Tsukuba. Reservation advisable at weekends. Allow about 75 minutes.

Kasumigaura is the second-largest lake in Japan, a broad shallow sheet of water that defines the south of the prefecture, and from the Tsuchiura port a small sightseeing fleet runs cruises out onto it. A short loop takes you out among the fishing boats and, in the right season, the traditional hobikibune — sail-powered fishing boats with great white sails, once used to trawl for the lake's smelt and now sailed for show on summer weekends. The lakeshore around the port has a windmill park and cycling paths, and the lotus beds bloom pink in late June and early July. It is a gentle, breezy close to the science day and a different view of the prefecture — flat water and big sky instead of museums and mountains.

Sightseeing boats run from Tsuchiura Port; a short cruise runs around ¥1,500-1,700 adult (approx., 2026); schedules are seasonal and weather-dependent, so confirm departures. By the lake in Tsuchiura, a few minutes from Komatsuya. Hobikibune sail on summer weekends only. Allow about an hour.

At the foot of the mountain, on the saddle between its two peaks, Tsukubasan Shrine has worshipped the mountain itself for some three thousand years — its twin summits, the higher Nyotai-san ('female body') and Nantai-san ('male body'), are honoured as a pair of deities, husband and wife, which is why the mountain is a long-standing place of prayer for marriage and family harmony. The atmospheric grounds climb the lower slope under huge cedars, with a great vermilion gate and a bell, and the upper shrines stand on the two summits, reached by the cable car and ropeway. Mount Tsukuba is one of the very few mountains the classical poets ranked alongside Fuji, and the shrine is the right doorway to the climb.

Open daily, grounds free, roughly dawn to dusk. At the mountain foot, reached by bus from Tsukuba Station or by car. The cable-car lower station is a few minutes' walk up beside the shrine. Allow about 50 minutes.

From the Miyawaki station beside Tsukubasan Shrine, the cable car climbs the wooded flank of the mountain in about eight minutes to the saddle near the higher summit, Nyotai-san, rising through cedar and, in season, banks of autumn colour. From the upper station a short, scenic walk along the ridge leads to the summit shrine of Nyotai-san and a broad view that on clear days reaches across the Kanto plain to Tokyo's towers and Mount Fuji beyond. It is the easy way up for families and the less sure-footed — there are hiking trails for those who want them, but the cable car turns the ascent into a relaxed half-hour. Buy a one-way ticket and plan to come down by the ropeway from the other peak.

Runs roughly every 20 minutes, daytime; around ¥590 one way, ¥1,070 round trip adult (approx., 2026). Lower station beside Tsukubasan Shrine. About an 8-minute ride. Allow about 30 minutes including the ride and ridge walk.

From near the higher summit a marked ridge path crosses to the second peak in twenty to thirty minutes on foot — an enjoyable stretch of mountain-top walking past curious weathered rocks with names and legends — and from the Nyotai-san side the ropeway then carries you down to the Tsutsujigaoka station on the eastern slope in about six airy minutes. The descending cabin gives a wide, open view over the plain and, at dusk in the right season, the ropeway runs special evening services for the night view of the Kanto lights spread out below. Coming down a different way from the way you went up turns the mountain into a proper traverse rather than an up-and-back, and Tsutsujigaoka has buses back toward the city. From here it is the drive south to Ushiku.

Runs roughly every 20 minutes, daytime, with seasonal evening services; around ¥750 one way, ¥1,300 round trip adult (approx., 2026). The ridge walk between the peaks takes 20-30 minutes; wear proper shoes. Tsutsujigaoka lower station has buses to Tsukuba Station. Allow about 30 minutes for the ride.

South of Tsukuba, rising abruptly from the flat fields of Ushiku, stands one of the tallest statues on earth: a bronze Amida Buddha 120 metres high to the top of its head, of which the figure itself is 100 metres — three times the height of the Statue of Liberty, and for years a world record for a bronze statue. The astonishment is that you go inside. A lift carries you up about 85 metres into the chest, past a dim hall of thousands of small gilded Buddhas, to a viewing window from which, on a clear day, you can see Tokyo's skyline and the Tsukuba mountain you climbed that morning. Around its feet are a garden of seasonal flowers, a small petting area and a pond, so it works for all ages. It is a strange, awe-inspiring, slightly surreal close to the trip — and unforgettable for children.

Open roughly 09:30-17:00 (to about 16:30 in winter); around ¥800 adult, ¥400 child including the lift inside (approx., 2026). In Ushiku, about 40 minutes by car from Mount Tsukuba. Lift waits can run to a couple of hours on peak-day weekends — a weekday is calmer. Allow about 75 minutes.